Media News

News about the media.

FCC vs. Kamala?

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Article in The Guardian by Edwad Heimore, 11/3/24

Headline:  “FCC regulator claims Harris appearance on SNL violates ‘equal time’ rule”

Subhead:  “Commissioner says appearance on show ‘is a clear and blatant effort to evade the FCC’s Equal Time rule’ “

“A US government communications regulator has claimed that Vice-President Kamala Harris’s surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live violates “equal time” rules that govern political programming.

“Brendan Carr, a commissioner with the federal communications commission (FCC), claimed on the social platform X that Harris’s appearance on the show “is a clear and blatant effort to evade the FCC’s Equal Time rule”.

“Carr made the claim in response to an Associated Press alert to Harris being on the show that night.

“The purpose of the rule is to avoid exactly this type of biased and partisan conduct – a licensed broadcaster using the public airwaves to exert its influence for one candidate on the eve of an election. Unless the broadcaster offered Equal Time to other qualifying campaigns,” Carr, a Trump appointee, added.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/03/harris-appearance-snl-equal-time-rule

Article in The Hill by Tara Suter – 11/03/24

Headline:  “FCC commissioner claims Harris on ‘SNL’ violates ‘equal time’ rule.”

“This is a clear and blatant effort to evade the FCC’s Equal Time rule,” Commissioner Brendan Carr posted on the social platform X Saturday in response to a post from The Associated Press about Harris being on the show that night. ”

https://thehill.com/homenews/4968217-fcc-commissioner-claims-harris-on-snl-violates-equal-time-rule/

Media Interested in Men Only?

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LA Times Photo

Article in L.A. Times by Lorrain Ali, 11/2/24

Headline:  “Ali: The election is supposedly about women’s issues. Why are the media so obsessed with men?”

Subhead:  “There’s been no shortage of wide-lens examinations into the political leanings of the Y chromosome set.”

“You could fill Madison Square Garden and the Ellipse with the number of stories focused on where male energy is amassing in this election. How will young men vote? What about men’s economic concerns? Trump is gaining support among men of color, say some polls. On the other hand, Harris may be gaining ground with Black men … while she’s losing with Latino men.”

“. . . Fixating on the male voter does make sense in other quarters, like a controversial ad created by the Progress Action Fund now airing in swing states. It uses the intrinsically female issue of abortion and turns it into an issue for men.”

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2024-11-02/the-election-is-about-womens-issues-so-why-is-the-media-so-obsessed-with-men

Social Media Good or Bad for Democracy?

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Article in AP, 11/1/24

Headline: “Mauritius suspends access to social media ahead of parliamentary elections”

“JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The government of Mauritius on Friday banned access to social media websites ahead of parliamentary elections on Nov. 10 in which Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth is seeking a second term in power.

‘The directive was announced by the national communications regulator, which said social media sites will be banned until Nov. 11, the day after the election.

‘The unprecedented social media ban follows a wiretapping scandal which rocked the country last month when recorded conversations of politicians, business people, and members of civil society were leaked on social media.

‘According to media freedom advocacy group Reporters Without Borders, the recorded conversations of five well-known journalists were also published on social media.

https://apnews.com/article/mauritius-social-media-suspension-elections-pravind-jugnauth-2e4e13fcd2ab37c32f85e4d042726022

Article in Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/mauritius-suspends-social-media-until-after-election-communications-regulator-2024-11-01/

Article in Al Jezerra

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/11/1/mauritius-blocks-social-media-until-after-election-amid-wiretapping-row

 

Voting by Subscription-Cancel

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Article in the Washington Post by Eric Wemple 11/1/24

Headline: “Opinion:  What happened to all those subscriptions?”

Subhead: “The Washington Post has suffered a subscriber desertion. What does it mean?”

“Subscription counts hover in the worries of journalists at The Post and across the industry. That’s because advertising revenue has cratered in the internet era, leaving outlets ever more reliant on revenue directly from the pockets of their readers. So when NPR’s David Folkenflik reported this week that The Post had lost 200,000 subscriptions — and then 250,000 — unease set in. Could this possibly be true? How?”

“. . . The astounding backlash to the non-endorsement policy was best explained … by a Reuters study that came out more than a year ago: ‘Many of those in the US who say they want to support good journalism self-identify with the left, where many feel that their political beliefs and values are threatened.’ ”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/11/01/washington-post-digital-subscribers-endorsement/

Right-Wing Newser Called on Facts, Quits in Snit

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Article in The Daily Beast by Grace Harrington, 11/1/24

Headline: “Hugh Hewitt Resigns as Washington Post Columnist After Storming Off Paper’s Livestream”

Subhead: “The conservative had argued with two progressive columnists amid the backlash at the paper over owner Jeff Bezos’ endorsement decision.”

“Conservative columnist Hugh Hewitt resigned from The Washington Post on Friday, shortly after exiting a stormy livestream debate moderated by Jonathan Capehart, the New York Post reports.

“Hewitt walked off of the Post‘s show “First Look,” with liberal columnists Jonathan Capehart and Ruth Marcus, after a heated discussion on Donald Trump’s lawsuit about alleged voting irregularities in Pennsylvania.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/hugh-hewitt-resigns-as-washington-post-columnist-after-storming-off-papers-livestream/

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Article in The Hill by Donald Mastrangelo, 11/1/24

Headline:  “Conservative radio host and political pundit Hugh Hewitt stormed off a Washington Post live event Friday after an argument over former President Trump’s rhetoric on election integrity ahead of Tuesday’s election.”

“. . .After a brief pause, Capehart told Hewitt, “I don’t appreciate being lectured about reporting when, Hugh, many times you come here saying lots of things that aren’t based in fact.”

“I won’t come back, Jonathan, I’m done,” Hewitt said, ripping his earpiece out and standing up.

“I’m done. This is the most unfair election ad I’ve ever been a part of,” Hewitt continued, his face no longer visible on the screen. “You guys are working, that’s fine, I’m done.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/4965738-hugh-hewitt-washington-post-live-jonathan-capehart-ruth-marcus/

Parachute Journalism Over Rustbelt

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Article in the Chicago Reader by Kerri Cardoza,10/30/24

Headline: “Complicating the Rust Belt”

Subhead: “New Belt anthology is a welcome antidote to the mainstream media’s parachute reporting”

“The Rust Belt, the postindustrial midwest, flyover country. Are these terms—which describe the area roughly from Wisconsin to Buffalo, New York—useful anymore? Were they ever? Every four years, the mainstream media parachutes into Small Town, USA to paint in broad, generic strokes what “real America” is like, imbuing the area with the power to sway presidential elections though not important enough to pay much attention to otherwise.

“Since 2013, Belt Publishing has done the opposite—it has invested in writers and writing that go deep into the heart of middle America. Their titles cover everything from a West Virginia teachers’ strike to a history of Arab Americans in Indianapolis to a deep dive into Chicago’s house music scene.”

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/complicating-best-of-the-rust-belt/

Podcasts Stomping Out Newspapers?

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Article in Al Jezeera by John Power, 10/31/24

Headline: “What Joe Rogan, Washington Post dramas say about the US election and media”

Subhead: “Trump and Harris have both shunned newspapers in favour of podcasts, highlighting media’s struggle for relevance.”

“Two stories about the United States presidential election this week highlight the total transformation of the news business.

“One involves Joe Rogan, the world’s most popular podcaster.”

“. . . Tellingly, while both Trump and Harris have made time for a number of high-profile podcasts, neither has sat down for an interview with The [Washington] Post.”

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2024/10/31/what-joe-rogan-washington-post-dramas-say-about-the-us-election-and-media

Rich Men and the Media

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Thomas Nast Cartoon

Article in the New York Times by By David Streitfeld, 10/30/24

Hedline:  “Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and the Billions of Ways to Influence an Election”

Subhead:  “The world’s richest men have their own rocket fleets, their own media and their own schemes to succeed with Donald J. Trump.”

“Mr. Musk, Mr. Bezos and other extremely rich people are confronted with unusual opportunities and invisible perils in the tightest, most dramatic, chaotic and highest stakes political battle in modern times. Everyone has a stake in this election, of course, but the very wealthy have so much at stake — or at least think they do — that they are perhaps inevitably trying to shape it, too.”

“. . . Many billionaires now are activists. One reason is there are more of them — the ranks of U.S. billionaires are up 38 percent by one estimate since Mr. Trump first took office in 2016 — and they have even more money. ”

“. . . On Friday, when The Post announced it would not endorse a presidential candidate, Blue Origin’s chief executive, Dave Limp, had a brief meeting with Mr. Trump in Texas. Mr. Bezos did not respond to a request for comment but said in a piece he wrote in The Post on Monday that he knew this “would provide ammunition to those who would like to frame this as anything other than a principled decision” and that the whole thing was a coincidence.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/30/technology/jeff-bezos-elon-musk-election.html

Google Blocks Russian Media Propaganda – Fined

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Article in The Register by Iain Thomson, 10/29/24

Headline: “Russian court fines Google $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000”

Subhead: “Don’t hold your breath Putin”

“The bizarre amount has been calculated after a four-year court case that started after YouTube banned the ultra-nationalist Russian channel Tsargrad in 2020 in response to the US sanctions imposed against its owner. Following Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2022 more channels were added to the banned list and 17 stations are now suing the Chocolate Factory, including Zvezda (a TV channel owned by Putin’s Ministry of Defence), according to local media.”

“. . .The court imposed a fine of 100 thousand rubles ($1,025) per day, with the total fine doubling every week. Owing to compound interest (Einstein’s eighth wonder of the world), Google is now on the hook for an insane amount of money, or what the judge on Monday called “a case in which there are many, many zeros.”

https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/29/russian_court_fines_google/

“Preemptive Censorship” – the New Trend in Journalism?

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Adbusters Media Foundation

Opinion article in the Washington Post by Jennifer Rubin 10/29/24

Headline:  “The U.S. can learn from other countries’ encounters with fascism”

Subhead:  “American voters still have time to heed the warnings from abroad.”

“. . .Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian regime in Venezuela, Freedom House reports, has become expert in promoting ‘preemptive censorship among reporters’ when it is the media executives ‘who exert pressure on their reporters’ coverage for fear of closure or reprisals.’ ”

“. . . We have seen the same phenomenon in India. The Post reported in 2023 on censorship concerns faced by streaming services including Netflix and Prime Video. (Post owner Jeff Bezos is the founder of Amazon, which owns Prime Video.) “One director who has worked with Netflix and Prime Video said streaming companies didn’t just fear antagonizing the Modi government. They were even more concerned about its right-wing supporters, who might launch mass campaigns calling for boycotts and arrests,” The Post wrote, quoting the director: “What the government has done very smartly is they effectively say, ‘You self-censor stuff.’ There is a gun to your head because at any point of time, it’s so easy to mobilize a bunch of people.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/10/29/fascist-take-over-guardrails/